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Hodgson’s failings are not due to his formation

Another quarter final exit for England, and with it, the debate reignites about their tactics. This time, itâ€™s Roy Hodgsonâ€™s 4-4-2 that has caused the most discussion.

The 4-4-2 has always been a sore point in tactical discussion â€“ many managers see it as outdated and unsuited to the rigors of modern football, which focuses upon short passing and possession play far more than has ever been the case in the past. Johan Cruyff is not a fan: he attacked it after the World Cup in South Africa, suggesting â€œthe numbers donâ€™t match upâ€, while Jose Mourinho vetoed the formation in Gianluca Vialliâ€™s The Italian Job, pointing out that there is little the flat line of four in midfield can do to counter a midfield triangle. A triangle, as it is said, will always beat a line â€“ and a diamond too, so it seems.

Itâ€™s not only England that has received criticism for using the 4-4-2 â€“ Giovanni Trapattoniâ€™s Ireland played a similar sort of system, and they were knocked out of the group stage, bottom of the group and with the worst goal difference. The situation was similar after the 2010 World Cup, where England again came under fire for the rigidity in their shape, where football seemed to be heading the other way to a new wave of 4-2-3-1.

However, to identify Englandâ€™s problems as pertaining only to their formation is to ignore what Hodgsonâ€™s aims where in lining his side up in what seems like such a prehistoric formation: basically, he wanted men behind the ball in two lines of four, looking to soak up pressure. It was a reactive approach, borne out of a lack of preparation and partly due to the failings of the English players, and while this tactical strategy has rarely been criticized, Hodgsonâ€™s use of the 4-4-2 formation has been. This is unusual, when considering that his side could as easily be termed a 4-4-1-1, with one centre forward dropping another in a similar vein to Sir Alex Fergusonâ€™s Manchester United. That was certainly the case when Ashley Young was shifted centrally, with the winger nearly always floating deep behind a more genuine striker.

You could even suggest it was a 4-2-3-1, which on the face of it seems a ludicrous labeling. Yet Roberto Di Matteoâ€™s Chelsea were often termed with lining up in that formation, despite having a near-identical strategy of lining up in two banks of four, so evident in their victorious Champions League campaign. On the face of it, Hodgsonâ€™s use of 4-4-2 seems outmoded, but itâ€™s not the numbers that sent England home, as Rafa Benitez testified in his column for The Independent. On the face of it, 4-4-2 seems doomed, but thatâ€™s if you term a team playing in that style â€“ indeed, with Mezut Ozil pressing high up the pitch in the defensive phase, almost as a second striker, Germany could be termed as playing 4-4-2, and one could hardly make the argument that the Germans are underperforming at these Euros.

Notation of formations has always been a notoriously difficult area to grasp in football, which leads to misconceptions about style of play. Hodgson and Trappatoni werenâ€™t using 4-4-2 to compete in the â€˜possession battleâ€™, indeed, not since Arrigo Sacchiâ€™s Milan conquered Europe has a side succeeded at the top level with a proactive and truly genuine 4-4-2: even Fergusonâ€™s United, as the manager himself affirms, play with one striker rather than the commonly assumed two. Generally, the two banks of four approach is intended to counter, rather than control.

Hodgson wasnâ€™t lining his side up in a 4-4-2 merely to preserve the dying echoes of the formation; instead, he was giving his players the structure in which to play his defensive, reactive style of football.

Where, then, do the problems lie for England? This has already been well documented, from discussions about the technical quality of the players to debate about Englandâ€™s true position in international football. One thingâ€™s for sure: itâ€™s not the formation thatâ€™s the problem, more so, its definition.

2 Responses to Hodgson’s failings are not due to his formation

I see what you are saying Tim, we shouldn’t only look at the Formation. The the banks of IN THEORY should of worked all right defensively but if we think about it in depth it is not that solid as people seem to think. OK we may not of conceded against Italy but the thing is with their diamond against our two in the middle of the park combined with their ability to pass through tight spaces they should probably have beaten England by at least two goals. Then comes the failures on the counter attack, Milner was sucked into the central midfield battle so was never in the position to counter. Rooney did an awful job on Pirlo but even so, if he has completely abandoned that duty you would at least expect him to be in a position to receive the ball to counter but he was awful as was most of the team on the counter and as a whole Hodgson didn’t give the team the platform to counter well at all. We can talk about Chelsea winning the Champions league but that said more about Napoli’s poor back three, Barca’s Profligacy and Heyncks change after the Muller goal that gave them almost no chance of winning after they had conceded. Atletico Madrid’s win vs Athletic Bilboa would be a better example to use of good reactive football as Bilboa didn’t really create many clear chances compared to Bayern in the CL

Thanks for the comment. I’m not overly sure what happened with England’s attack, and especially Rooney’s positioning, but I do wonder if Capello’s comments have any grounding or whether it is as simple as suggesting Hodgson placed less emphasis in training upon offence. The challenge for Hodgson begins now.